Who are landscape architects and how do they design landscape architecture?
The Olympic Park in London that is currently under construction. It will be completed by 2012 when the Olympics take place in London!
Preface
A Sketched Garden Plan
Currently under construction and to be completed by 2012 before the London Olympics, the Olympic Park of London is anticipated to be one of the most massive parks built recently. Behind the beauty of this park shown in the planned drawings, there are people who work hard for our happiness and satisfaction. Although their hard work and effort are relatively hard to see behind the beautiful landscapes they design, they are always working hard while we do not even notice. They are landscape architects; people who plan and design outdoor areas by applying nature to them.
Landscape architects are different from normal architects. Landscape architects plan and design areas such as parks, gardens, and houses that are environmentally friendly, while architects particularly design buildings. (Goldfeld) Now knowing that landscape architects plan and design outdoor areas, who are landscape architects and how do they design landscape architecture in further detail? This particular question came to my mind because becoming a landscape architect is one of the many jobs I would like to have in the future.
In this page, three different genres will answer my key question. The genres each provide a better understanding to the key question. One provides information gathered from different sources, another provides an imaginary character of that job and characteristics of her, and the last one provides a visual demonstration of the topic. The key question binds all these genres efficiently and serves as a general question for the three genres to answer each in a unique way.
Genre #1: Research Paper
Introduction
The research paper describes in depth how the landscape architects design and plan landscape architecture by dividing the process into separate steps. In the first part of the paper, the description and goal of landscape architects are described. In the last part of the paper, there are a couple interviews that are from a professional landscape architect website. After reading over it a couple times readers will understand in detail the job of landscape architects. This genre helped me explain my topic by describing the occupation by dividing the descriptions into several steps. Also, by including the interviews in the end I could give the readers an idea of how real professional landscape architects feel about their jobs.
Research Paper
Although architects are widely known as professional designers who plan buildings, the specific term "landscape architect" might be very unfamiliar to the common people. Even though landscape architects and architects have very similar names, they are people with distinct fields of professions who work with entirely different parts of designing.
According to a career database website, landscape architects are people who plan, design and manage outdoor areas including both natural and human-built environments. Landscape architects design outdoor areas so that they are environmentally friendly, constructed for better utilization, and visually pleasing, and they design landscape architecture by interacting with other professionals and making graphic designs (Goldfeld). They are clearly different from architects, who "design buildings and advice their construction" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Landscape architects design outdoor areas, while architects focus on designing buildings.
The major goal as landscape architects is to provide pleasing and sustainable outdoor environments for the people. Landscape architects may design environmentally friendly parks, gardens, housing estates, or cities. From personal gardens to massive environmental city plans, they design landscape architecture of various scales. No matter what scale of landscape architecture the landscape architect designs, there are always common patterns of several complicated steps that lead to a complete planning of a landscape (Goldfeld).
The first step involved when designing landscape architecture is to consider the purpose and nature of the project. According to another career website CollegeGrad.com, when analyzing the nature of the site, landscape architects observe several factors: the climate, soil, slope, drainage, vegetation, direction of where the sunlight falls at different times, and views of the site at different angles. They also assess the effect of existing buildings on the planning, roads that connect to the landscape, and walkways that lead to the landscape. All of these factors contribute to the research of fundamental circumstances of the planning and the basic background of the site where the construction is to begin ("Career Information - Landscape Architects").
Then, the second step involved in designing landscapes is to consider the funds available for the project. It is very significant for landscape architects to make sure there are enough financial support for the project because the cost and money is necessary for obtaining the needed material for construction and employing people to construct the landscape. Without enough money to start with, the extent of similarity to the original plan of the landscape may be limited ("Career Information - Landscape Architects").
After the two steps are completed, landscape architects start preparing a preliminary design for their clients. These days, many landscape architecture-based computer programs are developed, so landscape architects use computer graphing programs to design and plan the site. This design is revised over and over again until it meets the client's satisfaction. Then they propose the final design to the client using written reports, sketches, models, photographs, land utilization proposals, and cost estimates. After these plans are approved by the client, they outline in detail the actual construction plan and make a list for all necessary materials required for the construction. At the construction site they often visit and supervise the construction, and make sure everything corresponds to the design plan ("Career Information - Landscape Architects").
One of the professional architects named Clare Brockhurst describes her job in an interview: “I loved the outdoors and became aware landscape is all around you but I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. But then I came across the landscape management course at Reading. The breadth of the course was such a mix. It was part history – not the academic study of history but the history of landscape – it was part engineering, part planning and part law” (Badrock, Cassels).
Another landscape architect Peter Wilder says, “There’s so much opportunity to make a difference in the UK. There’s so much happening here. One week you could be working on an airport in China, the next a city centre scheme in Moscow and the next working on the Olympics. London is a world class design centre. I’m a problem solver. I’ve always wanted to solve problems – how to build things and get things to work” (Badrock, Cassels). From what he says, it seems that he really enjoys his work. This shows that landscape architects really do have various types of opportunities and a wide range of options when it comes to designing and planning a site.
Works Cited
"architect." Architect – Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2009.
Badrock, Jason, and Alastair Cassels. "I want to be a Landscape Architect." I want to be a Landscape Architect. I want to be a Landscape Architect, 27 Feb. 2009. Web. 3 Sep. 2009.
"Career Information - Landscape Architects." CollegeGrad.com - Entry Level Jobs and Internships for College Students and Recent Graduates. CollegeGrad, n.d. Web. 3 Sep. 2009.
Goldfeld, Tammy. "Landscape architect: Job description and activities | Prospects.ac.uk." Prospects.ac.uk - Graduate Jobs, Postgrad Study, Graduate Career Information / Advisory Service. Prospects, Nov. 2008. Web. 3 Sep. 2009.
Genre #2: Character Sketch
Introduction
In the character sketch, I created a character who is a landscape architect and described her daily life. The descriptions not only include her personality and educational background, but also show how she typically works on a normal day. The character sketch has a casual format in which I used bullet points to describe every important aspect of her career and background. This genre helped me explain my topic by showing the readers what it is like to be a landscape architect by creating a character. The character sketch is more entertaining to read and easier to understand than the research paper, so it helps me explain casually to the readers who do not know very well about landscape architects.
Character Sketch
Basic Character Information
Name: Chelcie Kimbell
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Personality
Likes and Dislikes: Chelcie likes to design buildings and to organize spaces. For example, she likes to rearrange furniture in her house to create a fresh atmosphere in the house whenever a new season starts. She also enjoys growing flowers and trees in her garden in front of her house. She does not like to environmentally harm the planet, so she strongly supports the recycling policy and follows it well.
General personality: She is very open-minded, likes to interact with different people with different backgrounds, and also likes to try a variety of new challenges. She is sometimes adventurous, but she does not act without a plan. She likes to be organized and to have everything in place. She may not be the greatest outgoing leader, but she definitely knows how to interact with people without conflict as much as possible.
Weaknesses and strengths (personality-wise): Her weaknesses are that she does not like to change her mind if she thinks it is the right choice; she may be a little stubborn. However, her strengths are that she can interact with different people with different backgrounds very easily. This helps her with her job, because every time there is a new project, a new client comes with new orders; she works with different clients without conflict.
Educational Background
College major: She majored in Architectural Design in college.
Other subjects she enjoyed as a student: Once as a high school and college student, she enjoyed subjects such as environmental science, geography, art, and math.
Graduate School: After graduating from college, she went to Princeton University School of Architecture and continued her studies of landscape architecture. She graduated from there a few years ago.
Weaknesses and strengths (academically): Her academic strengths are her outstanding mathematical skills and designing skills. She is also very good at environmental science and geography. These academic strengths help her with her job because she has to do many calculations, consider the climate and geography of the landscape, and design landscapes. Her academic weaknesses are music and history, which are not very vital or necessary for doing her job successfully.
Daily Routine
Where she goes to work: She goes to her personal office in Chicago to work.
Who she works with: Who she works with depends on the project she is working on. However, she usually interacts with different environmental scientists and architects along with some geographers and gardeners to guide her with her plans.
How she does her work: She uses computer-based graphing programs to design landscapes on her computer. After her plans are approved by the client, she orders the construction company to start building the landscape she designed. She has certain deadlines for certain parts of the project such as the preliminary design and financial cost calculations to meet for her client, so she works accordingly to the deadlines. She often visits the construction site to see if her designs are coming to life properly and sometimes instructs the constructors to build things a certain way.
Works Cited
"Career Information - Landscape Architects." CollegeGrad.com - Entry Level Jobs and Internships for College Students and Recent Graduates. CollegeGrad, n.d. Web. 3 Sep. 2009.
Goldfeld, Tammy. "Landscape architect: Job description and activities | Prospects.ac.uk." Prospects.ac.uk - Graduate Jobs, Postgrad Study, Graduate Career Information / Advisory Service. Prospects, Nov. 2008. Web. 3 Sep. 2009.
Genre #3: Landscape Architect Daily Life Documentary
Introduction
The documentary visually shows the daily life of the character created in genre #2. It explains basically the same information portrayed in genre #2, but as a documentary it provides visual media for the readers. This genre helped me explain my topic by visually showing the readers what the job is like. By only reading genre #1 and 2, the readers may not understand the topic fully. By providing the readers a visual description through the documentary, they will understand better and by then will know completely what the job is like.
Documentary
Works Cited (Videos and photos used)
Babka, Beau. Are Jobs in the Criminal Justice Field Grouwing? 2009. About Police Jobs: Police Jobs | eHow.com. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://www.ehow.com/video_4872210_police-jobs.html>.
Baron, Frank. London Olympics Park 2012. PropertyInvesting.net: property investment news: TUBE NEWS: London Crossrail, Regeneration, Rail, Links, Maps. Web. 24 Oct. 2009.
After a month of researching, writing, and editing, I was able to learn better about the job of landscape architects. Before this project, I thought landscape architects and architects were people of the same fields of professions. Now I know that landscape architects do not design buildings like architects, but rather plan environmentally friendly facilities such as gardens and parks to make places more beautiful and functional. When I asked my friends, I noticed that many people near me never even heard of the name before. Some even thought architects were the builders! I hope that after they look over my small research project, they will be able to know that landscape architects are not merely designers, but professionals that deal with nature and technology to create more beautiful surroundings for us.
The Designers of Technology and Nature
Who are landscape architects and how do they design landscape architecture?
Preface
Currently under construction and to be completed by 2012 before the London Olympics, the Olympic Park of London is anticipated to be one of the most massive parks built recently. Behind the beauty of this park shown in the planned drawings, there are people who work hard for our happiness and satisfaction. Although their hard work and effort are relatively hard to see behind the beautiful landscapes they design, they are always working hard while we do not even notice. They are landscape architects; people who plan and design outdoor areas by applying nature to them.Landscape architects are different from normal architects. Landscape architects plan and design areas such as parks, gardens, and houses that are environmentally friendly, while architects particularly design buildings. (Goldfeld) Now knowing that landscape architects plan and design outdoor areas, who are landscape architects and how do they design landscape architecture in further detail? This particular question came to my mind because becoming a landscape architect is one of the many jobs I would like to have in the future.
In this page, three different genres will answer my key question. The genres each provide a better understanding to the key question. One provides information gathered from different sources, another provides an imaginary character of that job and characteristics of her, and the last one provides a visual demonstration of the topic. The key question binds all these genres efficiently and serves as a general question for the three genres to answer each in a unique way.
Genre #1: Research Paper
Introduction
The research paper describes in depth how the landscape architects design and plan landscape architecture by dividing the process into separate steps. In the first part of the paper, the description and goal of landscape architects are described. In the last part of the paper, there are a couple interviews that are from a professional landscape architect website. After reading over it a couple times readers will understand in detail the job of landscape architects. This genre helped me explain my topic by describing the occupation by dividing the descriptions into several steps. Also, by including the interviews in the end I could give the readers an idea of how real professional landscape architects feel about their jobs.
Research Paper
Although architects are widely known as professional designers who plan buildings, the specific term "landscape architect" might be very unfamiliar to the common people. Even though landscape architects and architects have very similar names, they are people with distinct fields of professions who work with entirely different parts of designing.
According to a career database website, landscape architects are people who plan, design and manage outdoor areas including both natural and human-built environments. Landscape architects design outdoor areas so that they are environmentally friendly, constructed for better utilization, and visually pleasing, and they design landscape architecture by interacting with other professionals and making graphic designs (Goldfeld). They are clearly different from architects, who "design buildings and advice their construction" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Landscape architects design outdoor areas, while architects focus on designing buildings.
The major goal as landscape architects is to provide pleasing and sustainable outdoor environments for the people. Landscape architects may design environmentally friendly parks, gardens, housing estates, or cities. From personal gardens to massive environmental city plans, they design landscape architecture of various scales. No matter what scale of landscape architecture the landscape architect designs, there are always common patterns of several complicated steps that lead to a complete planning of a landscape (Goldfeld).
The first step involved when designing landscape architecture is to consider the purpose and nature of the project. According to another career website CollegeGrad.com, when analyzing the nature of the site, landscape architects observe several factors: the climate, soil, slope, drainage, vegetation, direction of where the sunlight falls at different times, and views of the site at different angles. They also assess the effect of existing buildings on the planning, roads that connect to the landscape, and walkways that lead to the landscape. All of these factors contribute to the research of fundamental circumstances of the planning and the basic background of the site where the construction is to begin ("Career Information - Landscape Architects").
Then, the second step involved in designing landscapes is to consider the funds available for the project. It is very significant for landscape architects to make sure there are enough financial support for the project because the cost and money is necessary for obtaining the needed material for construction and employing people to construct the landscape. Without enough money to start with, the extent of similarity to the original plan of the landscape may be limited ("Career Information - Landscape Architects").
After the two steps are completed, landscape architects start preparing a preliminary design for their clients. These days, many landscape architecture-based computer programs are developed, so landscape architects use computer graphing programs to design and plan the site. This design is revised over and over again until it meets the client's satisfaction. Then they propose the final design to the client using written reports, sketches, models, photographs, land utilization proposals, and cost estimates. After these plans are approved by the client, they outline in detail the actual construction plan and make a list for all necessary materials required for the construction. At the construction site they often visit and supervise the construction, and make sure everything corresponds to the design plan ("Career Information - Landscape Architects").
One of the professional architects named Clare Brockhurst describes her job in an interview: “I loved the outdoors and became aware landscape is all around you but I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. But then I came across the landscape management course at Reading. The breadth of the course was such a mix. It was part history – not the academic study of history but the history of landscape – it was part engineering, part planning and part law” (Badrock, Cassels).
Another landscape architect Peter Wilder says, “There’s so much opportunity to make a difference in the UK. There’s so much happening here. One week you could be working on an airport in China, the next a city centre scheme in Moscow and the next working on the Olympics. London is a world class design centre. I’m a problem solver. I’ve always wanted to solve problems – how to build things and get things to work” (Badrock, Cassels). From what he says, it seems that he really enjoys his work. This shows that landscape architects really do have various types of opportunities and a wide range of options when it comes to designing and planning a site.
Works Cited
"architect." Architect – Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2009.Badrock, Jason, and Alastair Cassels. "I want to be a Landscape Architect." I want to be a Landscape Architect. I want to be a Landscape Architect, 27 Feb. 2009. Web. 3 Sep. 2009.
"Career Information - Landscape Architects." CollegeGrad.com - Entry Level Jobs and Internships for College Students and Recent Graduates. CollegeGrad, n.d. Web. 3 Sep. 2009.
Goldfeld, Tammy. "Landscape architect: Job description and activities | Prospects.ac.uk." Prospects.ac.uk - Graduate Jobs, Postgrad Study, Graduate Career Information / Advisory Service. Prospects, Nov. 2008. Web. 3 Sep. 2009.
Genre #2: Character Sketch
Introduction
In the character sketch, I created a character who is a landscape architect and described her daily life. The descriptions not only include her personality and educational background, but also show how she typically works on a normal day. The character sketch has a casual format in which I used bullet points to describe every important aspect of her career and background. This genre helped me explain my topic by showing the readers what it is like to be a landscape architect by creating a character. The character sketch is more entertaining to read and easier to understand than the research paper, so it helps me explain casually to the readers who do not know very well about landscape architects.
Character Sketch
Basic Character Information
Personality
Educational Background
Daily Routine
Works Cited
"Career Information - Landscape Architects." CollegeGrad.com - Entry Level Jobs and Internships for College Students and Recent Graduates. CollegeGrad, n.d. Web. 3 Sep. 2009.
Goldfeld, Tammy. "Landscape architect: Job description and activities | Prospects.ac.uk." Prospects.ac.uk - Graduate Jobs, Postgrad Study, Graduate Career Information / Advisory Service. Prospects, Nov. 2008. Web. 3 Sep. 2009.
Genre #3: Landscape Architect Daily Life Documentary
Introduction
The documentary visually shows the daily life of the character created in genre #2. It explains basically the same information portrayed in genre #2, but as a documentary it provides visual media for the readers. This genre helped me explain my topic by visually showing the readers what the job is like. By only reading genre #1 and 2, the readers may not understand the topic fully. By providing the readers a visual description through the documentary, they will understand better and by then will know completely what the job is like.
Documentary
Works Cited (Videos and photos used)
Babka, Beau. Are Jobs in the Criminal Justice Field Grouwing? 2009. About Police Jobs: Police Jobs | eHow.com. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://www.ehow.com/video_4872210_police-jobs.html>.Baron, Frank. London Olympics Park 2012. PropertyInvesting.net: property investment news: TUBE NEWS: London Crossrail, Regeneration, Rail, Links, Maps. Web. 24 Oct. 2009.
Biogas Plant Construction Timeline - Anaerobic Digestion. Klean Industries, 2009. Online Video. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=013TLXEIYJI>.
Gatts, Ryan. Landscape Architecture Plan – 2007. 2007. Picasa Web Albums – Ryan. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RuaXymRHH5rdnbPCOE0SUQ>.
Unknown. Doctor. 2004. Medical Jobs Australia and New Zealand for Doctors – International Medical Recuitment. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://www.imrmedical.com/aboutNZhealthcare.htm> .
Unknown. Photographer. 2008. Northamptionshire Photographers. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://www.northamptonshireguide.co.uk/photographers.html>.
Unknown. Teacher_SecondaryManWhiteBoard. 2009. Taranaki Careers – Top 20 Careers – Teacher. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://www.taranakicareers.co.nz/careers/detail.php?id=22>.
Unknown. The Times Modern Art 200: a sneaky preview. 2009. Times Online. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article6073386.ece>.
Vieira, Rul. Firefighters’ uniforms through the ages. 2009. Firefighters’ uniforms through the ages | UK news| guardian.co.uk. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/gallery/2009/mar/30/firefighters?picture=345247678>.
Epilogue
After a month of researching, writing, and editing, I was able to learn better about the job of landscape architects. Before this project, I thought landscape architects and architects were people of the same fields of professions. Now I know that landscape architects do not design buildings like architects, but rather plan environmentally friendly facilities such as gardens and parks to make places more beautiful and functional. When I asked my friends, I noticed that many people near me never even heard of the name before. Some even thought architects were the builders! I hope that after they look over my small research project, they will be able to know that landscape architects are not merely designers, but professionals that deal with nature and technology to create more beautiful surroundings for us.Works cited (pictures for wikipage)
Baron, Frank. London Olympics Park 2012. PropertyInvesting.net: property investment news: TUBE NEWS: London Crossrail, Regeneration, Rail, Links, Maps. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://www.propertyinvesting.net/cgi-script/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=default.db17042&command=viewonex>.Unknown. Garden Design Layout. The Benefits Of Landscape Architecture Software | Garden Growth. Web. 24 Oct. 2009. <http://www.gardengrowth.com/?p=658>.